Hawaii ambushes Michigan State before the Spartans can get to the Maui Invitational

The Hawaii basketball team gave coach Riley Wallace his 300th win at the school with a resounding 84-62 victory over No. 4 Michigan State yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Warriors took the lead less than 5 minutes into the game and never trailed again, pulling away from the Spartans in a statement-making performance that will likely raise eyebrows across the country.

"Everybody's going to be asking questions about what's going on in Hawaii," UH point guard Deonte Tatum said. "Not only is it paradise, but they can play ball out there, too."

Coach Riley Wallace gets his 300th UH win with a stunning upset over Michigan State

VETERAN head basketball Coach Riley Wallace won't have any problem remembering his 300th career win at the University of Hawaii.

Not only did the Rainbow Warriors upset No. 4-ranked Michigan State 84-62 yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center, they outplayed the Spartans in every phase of the game. It marked only the third time Hawaii has managed to beat a team ranked in the top 5 and it rivals Wallace's stunner over No. 2-ranked Kansas in the finals of the 1997 Rainbow Classic.

Four Rainbows finished in double figures yesterday, including 20 points apiece by Julian Sensley and Matt Lojeski to secure the season-opening victory.

A "white-out" day crowd of 8,802 watched UH beat a team ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll for only the second time. The last came in the finals of the 1997 Rainbow Classic when the Rainbows upset No. 2 Kansas. UH is 17-94 against nationally ranked opponents.

"I'll remember this one," Wallace said of his milestone win. "I don't know 100, and I don't know 200 -- I couldn't tell you. But I'll remember 300, because you beat a great team, a nationally ranked team, and a very well-coached team. That makes it even more special.

"Is this better than Kansas? I like them all."

The Rainbows don't have much time to savor the win, as they leave today for a game at UNLV on Tuesday.

Michigan State, which ended last season in the Final Four, will try to regroup in time for the EA Sports Maui Invitational, which opens tomorrow in Lahaina.

UH forward Julian Sensley and guard Matt Lojeski scored 20 points each to lead four Rainbows in double figures.

"I've never experienced anything like it," Sensley said. "This is what we all dream of in high school, playing in this kind of atmosphere."

Lojeski hit six of eight 3-point shots in his UH debut and credited assistant coach Bob Nash's work with the scout team this week for preparing the starters for the Spartans' schemes.

"We pretty much knew what they were going to do on every play," Lojeski said. "We've been going over that for about a week at practice. We didn't find anything we could exploit, but we knew what they were doing offensively the whole time and it really helped."

Forward Ahmet Gueye added 13 points and six rebounds and Bobby Nash came off the bench to score 10 points.

Tatum orchestrated the offense in dishing out seven assists and committing only three turnovers.

Several Michigan State players were hampered by cramping in the second half. Guard Shannon Brown experienced the most severe case and had to be taken off the court on a stretcher.

Center Paul Davis kept the Spartans close with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but his minutes in the second half were limited by leg cramps.

"We were highly ranked and touted with a lot of the players who we did not have in the game and did not have at full strength," Davis said. "We were getting the lead cut down and I think that's when everything started happening."

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Michigan State's Paul Davis went down with cramps in the second half of yesterday's game. Davis was helped off the floor.

Guard Maurice Ager led the Spartans with 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field.

"We didn't play very well, we didn't have all our horses. We just had some bizarre lineups in there," MSU coach Tom Izzo said.

"They're a good team, that's an NCAA team, I don't think there's any question about that."

UH shot 45.6 percent from the field in the game and hit 10 of 24 3-point shots, while Michigan State went 5-for-18 beyond the arc.

Hawaii shot well in an exhibition win over UH-Hilo, and kept the hot hand early as Lojeski hit back-to-back 3s to spark a 14-2 run that gave the 'Bows a 21-12 lead at the 10:46 mark of the first half.

"We just started off on fire," said Sensley, who had 13 first-half points. "We were playing so well as a team, moving the ball, making them think."

The Rainbows led 39-32 at the break and the Spartans got to within five at 41-36 on a layup by Ager.

UH then pulled away with a 9-0 run capped by Tatum's breakaway dunk to put the Rainbows up by 14 with 17 minutes left. The Spartans would get no closer than six the rest of the way.

"Every time it got down to six or seven we'd hit a 3 and it got back up to 10 and I think that finally broke them," Wallace said. "They kept making their run, then we'd make a stop and get a bucket."

The margin reached 20 when Gueye scored on a layup off an assist from Matt Gibson with 3:55 left and the Rainbows frolicked down the stretch.

As the final seconds ticked down, guard John Wilder flung the ball into the air to start a wild celebration on the court.

"This is huge for us," Sensley said. "We've been focusing on these guys since we started conditioning.

"We've got a long season ahead of us -- it's a great start, but it still comes down to how we finish."

Said Davis: "They are a very good team. They will be in the tournament, ..."

Izzo finished the thought. "Maybe we'll get another shot at them."

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Deonte Tatum went up against Michigan State's Jason Aerts for two of his six points yesterday.